When it comes to addiction, the first step is to admit you have an addiction. Hello, my name is Alexis and I’m a lip balm addict.

For a while now, I’ve been on the hunt. I’ve looked far and wide. I tried many brands, flavors, and textures. I finally found my match. Not only is it critical for me to find a lip balm that feels and tastes good, but I also want it to align with my ethics, meaning zero animal testing, as well as being eco-friendly.

Meet Poppy & Pout.

Handpoured straight from their warehouse in Idaho, Poppy & Pout has been making their lip balms with 100% natural ingredients in their trademark recyclable cardboard tubes since 2014.

From then on, the lip care company has expanded their products to lip scrubs as well and their products are sold in stores and boutiques around the country. 

Poppy & Pout has a plethora of luscious lip balms in their collection, but the lemon bloom is my absolute favorite flavor. It feels refreshing and keeps your lips buttery all day.

I caught up with Krysta Morgan, head of Marketing and Public Relations to discuss what Poppy & Pout is all about.

How did you come up with the name Poppy & Pout?

“We say that our lip balms are “flower-powered” since sunflower oil is a key ingredient in our formulas. We wanted a name that reflected that “flower power” vibe. “Pout” was an obvious choice since we are a lip care company, and “poppy” had that fun, flowery sound we were going for!”

I read on your website that your products are cruelty-free and eco-friendly. Why is that important to you?

“We strongly believe in living a sustainable lifestyle and in doing good. Being cruelty-free and eco-friendly was a non-negotiable for us when starting this company.”

I know too many companies that unfortunately continue to test on animals but provide popular quality products. How are you able to provide quality products that compete with your competitors without compromising your ethics?

“We have tested our natural lip balm and lip scrub formulas over and over again until we found something that we loved. Once we loved it, we knew others would, too! We believe the quality of our products stands right alongside that of any commercial brand. (But without plastic consumption and animal testing.)”

On your website, it states your beeswax is ethically sourced from the U.S. What does that mean exactly? How is beeswax ethically sourced?

“While we do not harvest our own beeswax, we do work with an American-based distributor. We chose them because the beeswax is obtained in a sustainable way, and actually increases bee population, and improves the bee colonies’ health overall.”

Final question, how did the owner come up with the idea to start this company? What was his passion that led to this point?

“Our founder, Derek Cooper, was fresh out of college when he noticed a gap in the lip balm market. There were natural lip balms, but either their formulas were too waxy or their packaging was unattractive and/or unsustainable. He wanted to create a product that had both form and function. Poppy & Pout is a beautiful and sustainable solution to lip balms that have unwanted ingredients (like parabens, phthalates, or petrolatum) and our packaging is eco-friendly.”

SSxx